The Promise
by The Bleached Inu
Summary: For Ichigo, it was a simple request for someone he can trust. For Toshiro, it is a promise.
1. Chapter 1

**Sup yalls! Itz The Bleached Inu! So I have had this idea in my head for a long time now ever since summer. I thought of it while in Lake Chelan. I don't know why but mostly because I watched Bleach ep 316 while I waz there. BEST EP EVA! XD Enjoy!**

Chapter 1: A Promise

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><p>"<em>Why do you always come here? Do you live nearby or something?"<em>

"_Not really."_

_She tilted her head slightly in confusion, but said nothing. He looked up, gazing at the red clouds. _

"_Because, it's the best view of the sky. It brings back… memories."_

_"Memories? Just how old are you anyway?"_

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><p>Toshiro sat on his usual spot on the railing, a blue and white hoodie kept out most of the chilling winter air. The sun was slowly sinking behind the distant buildings of Karakura; his thoughts couldn't help but trail off to a certrain raven haired girl. Ever since that one day that he helped her and her team win a soccer match, he hadn't been able to completely remove her from his mind. Espacially whenever he saw a soccer ball or was watching the sunset. He had run into her a few times while on missions and when he did, he found himself either playing a game of soccer with her or just talking. The both of them rather enjoyed the railing that he was now sitting on.<p>

Just yesterday, the younger Kurosaki had gone with him to see Grandma Haru. She was an older woman that he visited every time he came to the World of the Living. Though that particular trip to the elder woman's home was rather eventful; saying that he had to kill a Hollow who once was a shy, young soul that was bound to this world because of his longing to see the snow. In the end, he did.

Toshiro couldn't help but smirk when he remembered when Ichigo's sister had brought him to her home that one night. How her not-so twin sister Yuzu had gone on and on about how cute of a couple they made.

_Ugh…that was embarrassing._

His smirk faded when he remembered something else. Something that Ichigo had said to him.

_'Don't put Karin in danger, you hear?'_

_Karin Kurosaki…_

"She's turning out to be quite the character." He murmured.

And with that said, the fiery sun disappeared from sight behind those small houses in the distance.

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><p><strong>TA-DA! Waddya think? Plz stay with me on this! It will get better I promise! <strong>Hehe- I made a joke X)…** Anywayz, C that button the bottom? The one that says 'Review'? Yea, u no u want to! Until next chap! :)**

**-The Bleached Inu**


	2. Chapter 2

**I'm back! Sorry 4 da wait. I've been having a hard time thinking of wat 2 write 4 chap 2 of dis story… hell I didn't even no how to write chap 1! This chapy switches to Karin and her thoughts. Hope u liky! :)**

Chapter 2: Who said school was uneventful?

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><p>"Karin-chan? Karin-chan wake up! We'll be late for school!"<p>

Yuzu's ever cheerful voice called from down stairs waking her twin, who wasn't all too happy about it. Karin groaned yanking the covers over her head.

_Why are beds always so much more welcoming in the morning?_

Yuzu opened the door to the bedroom that she and her sister shared already dressed and ready to go. "Wake up Karin-chan, breakfast is almost ready." With that said, Yuzu ran back down to the kitchen to make sure the eggs weren't burning.

Karin enjoyed the last few seconds of warmth that her bed gave her and with one last groan, threw off the sheets. The tom-boy stretched her arms over her head and glanced at the clock. **6:35 **

_So damn early…_

School started at **7:10**. If she and Yuzu wanted to make it there on time, she better get a move on. And one more thing: they had to _walk._ Karin sighed, something told her that today was going to be a long one.

**(A.N. – I was going 2 write about how the morning went but I'm 2 lazy sooo…)**

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><p>Yuzu hummed happily as she skipped just a step in front of her older sister. Karin on the other hand was still groggy from this morning, saying that she liked sleeping in and was getting sick of Yuzu trying to force her into wearing a skirt. It was part of their schools uniforms, but she had refused to wear that relieving thing and the teachers had given up a long time ago.<p>

The twins wear now 7th graders, in middle school. The middle schoolers that she and her own team had faced last year where now all in high school and out of their hair! Karin smirked when she thought about what had happened three days ago, when they had demanded a rematch. They couldn't score a single point! Let alone steal the ball! Though they wouldn't have won if Toshiro hadn't been there to help them out… again.

_Toshiro…_

Karin lifted her head up to the cloudy yet bright winter sky her thoughts drifting to the white haired shinigami. From when she first saw him she knew something was… different about him. Turns out, she was right. She had managed to squeeze some information out of him about her elder brothers' doings and what was going on with the other shinigami. It was confusing but to sum it all up: there was a war going on, and her brother is training. He would give her no more than that.

The sound of the bell brought Karin back down to earth to see that they had arrived. That's when Yuzu turned to her elder sister and spoke in a stern yet worried tone, "Karin-chan, promise that you won't do anything rash?" Karin raised her right hand and placed the other behind her back, "I promise not to do anything unnecessary." Yuzu nodded and raced off to their first class, completely unaware of Karin's devious plan.

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><p>"AAHHHHH!"<p>

"EEWWWW!"

"GROSS!"

"EEEEKKK!"

"OMIGOD!"

Screams could be heard from the girls' lockers room, more specifically, from the cheerleaders. While on the other side of the wall outside was hysterical laughter. Karin clutched her sides and she slowly started sink to the ground trying to catch her breath, the boy next to her wasn't doing much better. "Oh! Tha-that… was…brilliant!" Karin gasped. "It better be! Do you know how long it took to find that many spiders!" Raion asked. Raion Kyōryoku was Karin's closest friend. He had short, curly, brown hair with dark navy blue eyes. He was well built and tall for his age, about half a head taller than Karin. And he was the soccer teams' captain. He was handsome, and was quite popular with the ladies. Karin was the only girl who saw him as a human.

Karin was upset that she couldn't see the looks at those whores' faces, and knew that this would most likely get her and Raion detention for a week, but the sounds of their scream was _soooo _worth it! Karin had placed dye in the shower heads while Raion released the ridiculous number of spiders in the locker room. Oh, it was beautiful!

"I am so glad you talked me into this!" Raion gasped as the two high fived. "I wouldn't celebrate just yet." They froze and slowly turned around to see the principal standing in front of a very pissed, yellow haired Kirei Furūtsu. "Uh… hi?"

**(A.N. - again, 2 lazy .)**

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><p><em>After school, at soccer practice…<em>

Karin kicked the black and white ball in front of her passed the goalie and into the net. Coach Tanoshiku clapped, "Good job Kurosaki! Daiki, you're up!" Karin jogged over to Raion who was standing by the benches, "Sorry for dragging you down with me Rai." She said. As she had predicted, the two of them got detention for a week. Raion waved it aside, "Don't worry about it. It was my choice remember?" Karin nodded saying nothing still feeling a little guilty. Sensing this, Raion spoke up, "Alright, as punishment for getting us detention, you have to beat me in a one on one game at one o'clock sharp. Got it?" Karin smirked and saluted, "Yessir!" Raion smiled.

"Alright ladies –no offense Kurosaki…" "None taken coach!" Karin shouted causing the others to laugh. Karin was the only girl on the team.

"Practice is over! Now get goin' before I kick your sorry butts all the way home!"

"YESSIR!"

Everyone ran towards the locker room to in a hurry to get their stuff and get the hell out of there. But Karin stopped dead. "Oi! Kurosaki, wazzup?" Karin looked back at her team mates and put on a fake smile, "You guys go on ahead. I just remembered something I had to do." The boys, suspecting nothing, nodded and waved their goodbyes. "Remember, one o'clock!" Raion shouted. "I know! See ya there!"

_Please hurry and get out of here! _

Once she was sure that she was alone, Karin snatched her soccer ball and took off in the opposite direction.

Towards the park, towards the Hollow.

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><p><em>Beep, beep, beep!<em>

Toshiro sensed it before her heard it. The warning from his Soul Phone. He took it out of his back pocket and flipped it open. It was close, the park across the street.

_So much for a peaceful afternoon…_

He popped a Soul Candy into his mouth and sprinted off towards the park leaving his gigai behind. Suddenly, he felt a new spiritual pressure… one that felt oddly familiar…

_Karin?_

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><p>Karin put her hands on her knees panting. She looked up waiting for the Hollow to make its appearance. Sheknew it was there, she could feel him. In fact, she knew exactly where it was. But killing it now would be no fun. He might think that it was a lucky shot. She liked to face her enemies face to face. She hated hide-and-seek.<p>

"You can some on out!" She shouted, "I know your there!"

In a flash, a giant masked monster appeared before her snickering. "So, you _can _see me. Too bad, I like a good old hit and kill." Its long slimy tongue slid out of its mouth drawing dangerously close wrapping around her neck, but still not touching. "You look _delicious._" Karin remained unfazed. This guy was _soooo_ a rapist before he died. She rolled the ball underneath her foot lazily, a small smirk on her lips. "If you want it, then you'll have to catch me first." With that, Karin hooked her foot underneath the soccer ball, jumped into the air, and about half way through the back flip, landed a good kick with her other foot under the Hollows chin sending its head backwards.

The Hollow roared loudly from pain and shock. Karin gracefully landed on her feet a good distance away from the corrupted soul. She flashed him a seductive smile, "Now, let's see how strong you are and," She held out her hand towards him. "Give me a hug." The Hollow growled, "You little _BRAT!" _He charged towards her on all fours his claws extending ready to attack. Karin's smile turned into an evil smirk,

_Wide open…_

She raised her leg behind her the soccer ball in front of her. She packed as much spiritual pressure as she could in her foot as she swung her leg striking the ball. A flame like aura surrounded the ball as it flew straight into the Hollows mask.

_BOOM!_

When Karin looked, her ball had cut a straight through the Hollows head, leaving a clear view of the trees behind him. The monster disintegrated before it touched the ground, the black and white ball rolling right back up to her feet.

_Clap. Clap. Clap._

Karin whipped around to see a white haired boy standing on the light post clapping slowly. "Nicely done Kurosaki." Karin smiled, "For the last time Tosh, its Karin. What are you doing here anyway? Captain Hitsugaya leapt from his perch before the raven haired tomboy. "I _was _going to do _my_ j_ob. _But it seems that you can handle it yourself." Karin smirked putting her hands on her hips, "You know I can Snow White." Toshiro flinched as she said that last sentence. That was her new nickname for him. Snow White followed Shorty, Elementary Student, and Ice Prince (which had been recently shortened into: You Highness). He hated them all.

Karin laughed when she saw the young Taicho's eye twitch and ruffled his hair. (another thing that he wished she wouldn't do) "Aww, you know I'm just messin' with ya Tosh." Toshiro took hold of Karin's wrist and pulled her away from the hair, "I can see that…" Suddenly, Karin got an idea. "Hey, Toshiro? One of my friends and I are going to play a one on one later at one. Ya wanna come for a short game after?"

Toshiro shrugged without looking at her, "Not like I have anything else to do." _Besides making sure Matsumoto doesn't go off drinking again. _The images of what had happened last night almost made Toshiro shudder. Almost. Karin smiled, that was a close enough to a yes she had ever gotten from him so far. "Alright, see ya there!" She picked up her ball and turned to run, "It's the old soccer field where you helped us the first time! And remember, one O'clock!" And she was gone. Toshiro could already hear Matsumoto's mocking voice ringing inside his ears.

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><p><strong>Yay! 2<strong>**nd**** chapy complete! XD So, do you like? Plz let me know what you think. And again, sorry for the wait. (if anyone is even waiting for this dumb story). C yallz soon!**

**-The Bleached Inu**


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm Back! Sorry I've been too lazy to write this chapter so i put it off for a while...yeah... Anyways dis chappy gets more into the main plot and the actual story line of this fanfic. Oh! And being who I am, I did the math and if the soccer match was to start at 1, then they missed it. It would probably be around 3 when the match starts. (Because of the practice and the Hollow and all that crap). Jst sayin… Hope u enjoy!**

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><p>Chapter 3: Soul Stealer<p>

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><p>"Need I repeat my expectations?" The Arrancar bowed, "No, my Lord. I understand completely. I shall leave immediately." The man nodded his head. "This shouldn't take you long, Tamashī Nusumu." The Arrancar lifted his head, "No, my Lord; it shall not."<p>

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><p>Toshiro collapsed on the coach in Orihime's apartment wondering just what he had got himself into. He sighed enjoying the quite for the few seconds itwould last. Nobody was home at the moment, Orihime had gone out to do some food shopping (Toshiro reminded himself that he had to eat at Urahara's again), and Rangiku he knew was either at Urahara's Shop, out shopping, getting her hair done (either with or without Yumichika), or out drinking… again. Or all of the above. After spending a century or two with his fukutaicho he knew everything she was going to do, say, or think before she did it. Another reason why he thought he needed a well-deserved break.<p>

He considered going to the World of the Living as a break. Even with all of the Hollow's having to be killed, the souls to saved, and his immature subordinates to deal with, he found some time of his own to spend. Mostly containing of sitting on the roof, or walking aimlessly around town. But his favorite was sitting on the guard rail overlooking Karakura. It was quite a view, especially during sundown. He never was one to enjoy himself by going or doing something crazy, he preferred the peace and quiet. For centuries, he has watched the sunset alone, but ever since a few months ago, he didn't have to. Karin always met him there so she can sit and watch with him. They chatted or sometimes said nothing at all. Whomever heard of a quite Kurosaki? Toshiro rather enjoying her company, and at times he found himself on a grassy field kicking a soccer ball around with her and her team mates. The more he thought about it, he suddenly saw why Rangiku was always teasing him about his relationship with the younger Kurosaki: he was almost always with her.

He considered her as his close friend. A position that took even Momo quite a while to fill. Yet somehow Karin had managed to take that spot in less than a few weeks. She just had this special vibe about her that made almost everyone she met feel warm and loved. Though he would never admit it to anyone, Toshiro found himself liking this warmth, even if he often preferred the cold. The Tenth Division Captain let out another sigh. Again his mind had wondered to the raven haired soccer girl. She was like a big puzzle that he had yet to solve. And being a genius he found it rather irritating yet made him even more curious.

"Tai-cho!"

Before he could react, Toshiro began to gag trying to get some air into his lungs as two large, suffocating breasts smothered him while two surprisingly strong arms kept him in place. "Waddaya look so depressed for Taicho? I just bought the most _adorable _dress EVER! Ican't waitto show it to Yumichika! Its baby blue, with little frills on the bottom and on the sleeve- oh! And the sleeves only go down to the elbow and the whole thing is about ankle high! Oh and I can't forget about those new-"

"Matsumoto, I couldn't care_ less_about the _stupid _dressthat you bought or _anything _you bought for that matter. So if you will kindly _**let go**__!"_

Toshiro shoved his busty, strawberry blonde fukutaicho of his away taking in a large breath. Did he ever mention how much he loved trees? Rangiku pouted crossing her arms the best she could with all of her bags and her extra 20 pounds, "Why do you have to be so mean all the time Taicho?" She asked.

"It's not that I'm mean," He replied rising from the couch giving Rangiku the opportunity to take his place, "It's the fact that you are over excited about everything and spending the money that was meant for the mission on useless items." Rangiku rolled her eyes dropping her bags on the floor in front of her, "You need to loosen up a lil' taich. You're always so uptight!" Toshiro rolled his eyes not really caring what she thought.

"Matsumoto-"Before he could continue he caught sight of the clock in the kitchen in front of him. If he wanted to make it to the soccer field on time he needed to get a move on. He grabbed his jacket and walked towards the door. "Where ya goin?" Rangiku called out to him.

Silence.

"Say hi to Karin for me!"

_SLAM!_

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><p>Raion rolled his soccer ball back and forth under his foot waiting for Karin to show. If she was late he will make sure she would never score! He was the only person he knew of that gave Karin a real challenge in soccer. Everyone else she played with always ended up losing. They were lucky to have her on their team. He was lucky to even get a chance to talk to her. He whipped his wavy locks out of his face and glanced at the watch on his wrist. <strong>12:59…<strong>

"Oi! Raion!"

Raion turned around to see a raven haired girl running down the sad excuse of a hill towards him. "About time Kurosaki!" He shouted waving her over. Karin's fast feet came to a stop beside Raion. She smirked, "Well _sorry _if my sister wanted to take me shopping with her. Said she saw a dress that would supposedly look good on me." Karin shrugged. Raion laughed with her, thinking just what kind of dress it was. "Ready to play?" He asked kicking the ball up to his hands. "In a sec," She replied looking around, "I'm expecting someone." Raion felt a small pang on disappointment. This was the one time he would see Karin alone for a while. Karin looked at him with those large midnight blue eyes of hers, "I hope you don't mind." Raion shook his head, "No not at all; just as long as they don't interrupt our game." Karin gave him a reassuring smile. "Don't worry; I'll be playin' him afterwards!" Raion's smile faltered; _his?_

Karin looked around then waved her hand above her head. "Toshiro!"

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><p>Toshiro made his way across the street towards the field, his hands shoved in his jacket pockets. Why he was doing this was a mystery to him.<p>

"Toshiro!"

He lifted his head to see Karin waving him over to her and the boy next to her whom he guessed was her friend. The 12-year-old smiled, "I thought you weren't gonna come!" She said. He shrugged, "Hm." _Nothing else to do but to listen to what Matsumoto bought today anyways._ "Oh! By the way," Karin stepped to the side so the boys where face on another. "Toshiro, this is Raion Kyōryoku. Rai, this is Toshiro Hitsugaya." "Nice to meet you." Toshiro said politely. "Yeah." Was all Raion said no one noticing the small frown on his face.

It didn't take a genius to see that Toshiro and Raion where complete opposites. He had curly brown hair, he had unruly white spikes. He was tall and tan, he was short(er) and as pale as his Zanpakutō. And no doubt the Raion was much more talkative and playful than Hitsugaya. In short, they were exact opposites.

"So what are we standin' around for? Let's play some ball!" Karin shouted pumping her fist in the air. Raion smiled, "Yeah, yeah hold your horses!" Toshiro walked to the nearest tree and sat down. _So unenthusiastic… _Karin thought smiling. She shook her head and ran off onto the field.

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><p>The game was a long one. Both Karin and Raion where perfectly matched in this game. They first made a deal that whoever gets to ten points first wins, but after the past 20 minutes of no score… they just decided on 5 points instead. The snow-haired captain watched the two run around laughing falling and kicking the black and white ball in an obnoxious manner.<p>

_**It looks fun! Even you have to admit it…**_

Toshiro ignored the dragon and continued to watch them. Yes, it did look like fun. To them. To him, it looked like a pointless game someone invented in their spare time. Hell some homeless man could have invented such a "game."

_**You just don't know how to have fun do you? You **__**DO**__** play this game as well, Master.**_

_Yes, but that first time was because Kurosaki was injured and it would have been unfair. _Toshiro argued.

_**Ah! But she's well again and you still played! You need to get your mind off of your duty for a little while, Young Master. Look at Matsumoto! To her, duty **__**IS**__** her break!**_

_Don't compare me to that lame excuse for a Lieutenant, __Hyorinmaru! _

_**Just Saying…**_

Just how long is this match going to take anyway? It has been more than half an hour already! Toshiro wondered how humans had so much free time. Sure they had school and jobs and other activities to do, but that was nothing compared to the things that he and the others had to do at the Soul Society. Fun usually wasn't an option. Though of course someone eventually found a way to get drunk and go crazy… And he could name all of them.

The captain's eyes widened, his Soul Phone beeping wildly. He didn't need to look at it to see what it was… an Arrancar.

Karin gasped and fell to her knees; Raion continued to run towards the goal unnoticing. _What the hell is that? _Karin forced herself into a sitting position to find Toshiro in his shinigami form standing in front of her sword drawn. His gigai running off past them.

"Toshiro, what is that?"

"An Arrancar."

"A what?"

Toshiro never took his eyes off of his surroundings; it was coming closer… "Listen Karin, you and Kyōryoku need to get out of here. _Now!_" Karin was shocked; both by the amount of spiritual pressure this 'Arrancar' was releasing, and the fact that Toshiro Hitsugaya called her by her first name. Whatever was happening, it was bad.

"Go to Urahara's shop." Toshiro instructed, "My gigai should be there by now. Tell him that an Arrancar is here. He'll know what to do."

Karin was confused to say the least. But she trusted him. "Hey, Karin! You alright!" Karin turned around and saw Raion running towards them. She waved her hands, "Raion, run!" He stopped, _yes! _

"_Karin_…" Toshiro said in a warning voice.

"Rai, run! Get out of here, hurry!"

"Well, well, well. Looks like I'm gonna have more fun than I expected." Karin whipped around to face a tall man with bright red hair that went down to his shoulders. He wore a tight white shirt along with baggy white pants. His eyes where blacker than what Karin had always thought a black hole would look like. He was bare foot, and his sword was strapped across his chest and tightly secure on his ribs. On the right side of his face was what seemed to be the skeleton of a hawk that was wrapped around his head. And on his left cheek was the letter '**X**'. But what bothered Karin the most was the large hole where his heart should be. So this was an Arrancar.

Toshiro put up his Zanpakutō protectively in front of him and Karin. "What business do you have here, _lowlife_?" The Arrancar waved his arm and gave an exaggerated bow, "Tamashī Nusumu at your service. And my business has nothing to do with you, young captain." Tamashī raised his head his eyes on Karin who took a few steps back. He grinned wickedly,

"But with that young lady behind you… is a different story."

"Run!" Toshiro shouted launching himself at the Arrancar. Faster than lightning, Tamashī drew his own Zanpakutō and blocked the captains' attack. The metal clashed sending sparks in different directions. Karin took that chance and ran off back to Raion. Toshiro stole a quick glance over his shoulder to see Karin pulling Raion away from the field and sprinting towards Urahara's.

"Don't take your eyes off of me, captain!" Toshiro looked back just in time to block a series of hits Nusumu's sent his way. He created a good distance between the two of them before speaking, "What is it that you want with Kurosaki?" The Arrancar smirked and twirled his Zanpakutō around like a baton. "If you'll let me pass I can show you." He attacked again, this time landing a good cut on the captains left cheek.

"Like hell." Toshiro hissed.

Tamashī sighed, "Well then I'll just have to make my own way through. As you know I'm on a tight schedule here; I cannot be late." He shunpoed and landed behind him and charged. Toshiro swiftly changed courses and blocked. The attacks came more swiftly and harder than the previous ones, but something was off. Toshiro shunpoed himself and got Tamashī on the shoulder. When he landed, there was no cut. Toshiro frowned; he could have sworn he had cut him. He charged again, this time slicing the white hawk down the middle.

He vanished.

Toshiro cursed himself for his stupidity. A decoy. Tamashī's spiritual pressure was now dangerously close to Karin's and Kyōryoku. _"Damn!" _He quickly set off after them, only to hear Raion's scream shortly afterwards. He ran faster.

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><p>Raion was extremely confused. What was Karin running from and why was she taking him with her? What was going on? "Come on. Keep going! No time to explain." was all Karin said. After a while, they came to a part of town that Raion didn't recognize.<p>

"Hurry! We're almost-"She stopped midsentence her face horror struck, she was frozen in place. Raion stopped and looked back at her,

"What's wrong?"

Silence.

That's when he noticed the blood.

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><p>Karin ran as fast as she could down the familiar road which leads to Urahara's Shop. Why Toshiro said he knew what to do was a mystery. She had always found "hat-and-clogs" (a.k.a "old man") odd and kind of a creeper. But she followed orders. All she knew at the moment was Toshiro was fighting an Arrancar, and that it wanted her for something. Probably to kill her. Why? She didn't know.<p>

"Keep going!" Karin shouted over her shoulder at a very confused looking Raion. "No time to explain!"

All of those years of playing soccer and practicing with her team mates was finally paying off. All though she'll probably feel it in the morning. She recognized this place, only a few more blocks to go!

"Hurry! We're almost-"Karin skidded to a halt as a man dressed in white appeared in front of her. He eyes went wide, _oh god…_ But of he was here, then where was Toshiro? Was he alright? Tamashī smirked, "Times up little girl." He raised his sword,

"_Tamashī Nusumu… __Dorobō!" _

With that, he stabbed Karin in the heart. Karin was surprised, it didn't hurt. A small pinch at first, like getting a shot; then nothing. It was odd but not all deaths hurt I guess.

"_Kurosaki Karin."_

Tamashī's whisper was the last thing Karin heard. The last thing she felt was a tearing pain erupting throughout her whole body. She had no strength to scream.

Her world went black.

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><p><strong>Cliff hanger time! O yeah! So how did u guys like it? I'll be coming out with a new story soon, a 'Shugo Chara' fanfic. Plz let me know wat u thought of this chappy! Luv yall!<strong>

**-The Bleached Inu**


	4. Chapter 4

**GOMENISAI! I TOOK SO LONG X( I just wanna say that I'm not all too proud of the writing that I've done so far; but I'll try and fix that with this chapter! Plus the other chapters have been pretty short so… Let's get back to ****T****oshiro****! I admit I hated having him get there too late but hey, what can you do? **

**-The Bleached Inu**

**Disclaimer:**** I don't own Bleach (I have the video game though) **

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><p>Chapter 4: Guard Dog<p>

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><p><em>She ran up the steep hill as fast as she could, and when she finally reached the top she was out of breath. She looked over her shoulder at the small village, her home that lay at the foot of the grassy slope. <em>

_Smiling to herself, she took off running again into the thick woods. After about a minute or so she saw a figure in the distance; she immediately knew who it was. Her smile grew wider as she picked up the pace; her bow and arrow's hitting her back slightly as she ran, her long, white, loose sleeve hid the dagger strapped to her forearm. She did not plan on using either of them anytime soon._

_As the figure came into better view, she called out his name: _

"…_!" _

_Hearing this, he slowly turned to look over his shoulder - _

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><p>Karin's eyes snapped open only to quickly shut them again trying to block out the bright light. <em>The hell…? <em>Karin sat up from where she lay and immediately regretted it. She winced, her hand instinctively flying to her chest. As she looked down, she saw that the whole top half of her body was wrapped in bandages. Her arms where covered by a thin jacket that hung loosely over her shoulders; that and her jeans where the only thing she wore.

She slowly and painfully sat up again on the futon she was laid clutching her chest. "W-what happened?" She muttered to herself pulling the jacket closer to her. _And what was with that dream?_

"You shouldn't sit up just yet, your wound might reopen."

Karin looked up to see Toshiro in his spirit form sitting on the far side of the room leaning against the wall; his sword beside him. She glanced around the small, plain room then back at him thoroughly confused.

"Toshiro, what's going on? What happened?"

He raised an eyebrow slightly, "Don't you remember?

Karin thought for a moment, her eyes widened, "T-there was - that guy was…I-I was stabbed… and I was trying t-Raion! Where is he? Is he okay?"

"He's fine." Toshiro replied in a rather bored tone, it ticked Karin off a little.

The girl let out a small, exasperated sigh, "How long was I out?"

"About a week or so…"

Karin's eyes widened, "WHAT! A WEEK? WHAT ABOUT-"

"If anyone asks, you've been sick with a bad fever." The shinigami captain cut her off explaining how Urahara had contacted her school, and Yuzu knew (or thought) that she was there because she didn't want anyone else to get sick. Karin sighed wincing again as her wound began to throb.

"Well…where am I?"

"You're at Urahara's Shop." Karin waited, gesturing for him to go on. He sighed, "Well, when I found you-"

* * *

><p><em><strong>Nine days before…<strong>_

_Damn it! How could I fall for something like that so easily! _

_T__o__shir__o__ silently cursed himself for Nusumu's last stunt. The oldest trick in the book and he fell for it! He was a captain for Pete's sake! He should have noticed the change in Nusumu's __reiatsu immediately! Quieting his mind, he began to trace Karin's spiritual pressure to find that he didn't need to. It spiked shooting out in all directions no doubly attracting more Hollow's than needed. Then, it faded what felt like completely before he could recover; as well as the Arrancar's. He tensed, but was slightly relieved when he felt it again. It was small, like a dying flame, but it was still there._

_He quickened his speed and soon found himself just blocks away from Urahara's Shop. There he found an unconscious Karin and a thoroughly confused and obviously terrified __Kyōryoku. _

_That's when he saw the blood._

_T__o__shir__o quickly __shunpoed in front of__ Kyōryoku placing two fingers to his forehead.__ T__o__shir__o muttered a few words and watched the boy fall to the ground unconscious. Sorry…He quickly scooped the dark haired girl in his arms and dashed to Urahara's. He glanced down at her, it was a stab wound to the heart; blood stained the whole front of her shirt and wasn't stopping. It was a miracle that she was alive! Perhaps the blade was off. Still, the wound was too close to its target for comfort. She needed to be treated, and_ fast!

Ichigo is going to kill me…

* * *

><p>"<em>It's a serious wound, aimed at an internal organ." Tessai said later that day, "The blade barely missed the heart and was bleeding profoundly, but with the help from Inoue-san she should be just fine. She just needs a little rest." Tessai gave a small nod of thanks to the light haired girl seated beside him. <em>

_She smiled, "Oh, it was no trouble at all! Karin-chan is like a little sister to me! I would have helped her anyway! So there's no need to thank me, really!" _

_Orihime said while waving her hands frantically and speaking at a rather quick pace. They had called her as soon as T__o__shir__o arrived with a very wounded Karin; worried sick Orihime got there as quickly as she could and worked on her_ _immediately. She didn't remember having to work that hard in healing someone, then again none of them have been this bad. Yet that is…_

"_And the boy…?" Urahara questioned from behind his fan, _

"_No harm came to him; Captain Hitsugaya brought him back to the park. He will wake soon, he won't remember a thing."_

"_Good, good!" Urahara exclaimed, his voice casting off its usual perkiness._

_As if on cue, T__o__shir__o slid open the shoji doors and walked into the room. _

"_Ah! Hitsugaya Taicho! Good to see you back!" _

_He__ gave a small 'hmph' and sat down in front of Urahara, "How's she doing?" _

"_She's doing just fine; just fine! She'll be out for about a week or so, the wound is fatal but somehow her Kurosaki blood kicked in just in time! Of course I was there to help…"_

"_Thank you Inoue-san." Toshiro nodded both cutting off completely ignoring Urahara. She smiled, "Yup!" Urahara sweat-dropped…"Aww…Hitsugaya-kun…" he drawled._

"_Well, I wouldn't celebrate much yet…" Tessai interrupted before anyone can say anything else, "We still have Ichigo to worry about."_

That's right_! Toshiro remembered, _she's Ichigo' s sister!

_**You seem to always forget that…**__Hyorinmaru commented._

_Let's just say that she's a lot more level headed than her brother…_

"_What do you mean? Is he okay?" Orihime asked now worried. Urahara brought down his fan ever so slightly so that you could see his lips curve up in a rather untrusting way, _

"_Well, Ichigo won't be too happy about his little sister being chased and stabbed by an Arrancar; I think it would be best if we keep this from him. For now. He just might put the blame on you, Captain Hitsugaya, saying that you were there, right! Hitsugaya-kun?" _

**If Ichigo finds out, you are in soooo much trouble!**_Hyorinmaru snickered. Toshiro couldn't help but wonder what had happened to the "icy" personality the old dragon had._

**I'm a part of you. **_Hyorinmaru said dropping his teasing tone,_ **I am what you are. At least that's what I remember.**

What does that mean?

_He didn't answer._

"_Hitsugaya-kun? Yoo-hoo! Hitsugaya-kun! _

**What do you think that Ginger's going to do to you exactly? That is if he ever finds out…**

I don't think he really counts as a Ginger_…_

**Really? Then what exactly is- **

"HEY, HITSUGAYA!"_ Toshiro snapped out of his short lived conversation with his Zanpakuto by a fan whappin' him in the face, _

"_Oi!"_

_A vain appeared on his forehead as Hitsugaya socked the old man in the face. Hard. Urahara fell to the floor both hands clutching his nose his fan still in hand. Tessai sighed pinching the bridge of his nose while Orihime wondered (out loud) what she should buy for dinner that night completely ignoring the man withering in pain. _

"_Oww…was that really necessary?" He asked, _

"_Was you whacking me in the face really necessary?" Hitsugaya shot back angrily. _

"_Well, you where spacing out all of a sudden and I thought you were just ignoring me for no reason! (that hurt…)" Urahara __wined__ blood dripping from his fingers._

**You were a little rough there**_**…**_

That's your fault_!_

_Toshiro sighed in exasperation at both his Zanpakuto and the mad man in front of him as well as this whole damn situation._

"_Do you have any idea why they wanted Kurosaki?" He asked massaging his temples._

_Urahara (who had stuffed some tissues up his nostrils) regained his poster his fan remaining at his side showing his face more than it already was; _

"_Well, I'm not sure if you've noticed, but Miss Kurosaki's spiritual pressure is practically nonexistent. She is in good shape and is in no danger of dying any time soon, yet you can barely feel it. It's almost as if it was…_stolen_."_

_Everyone's eyes widened. As they paid closer attention, Karin's spiritual pressure was indeed almost undetectable._

"_W-what do you mean by stolen?" Orihime asked just as confused as everyone else; however, Toshiro's gears kicked into action. _

"Nusumu._" He murmured, his head snapped up to look at Urahara, "Is it even possible?"_

"_What is?" Orihime looked back and forth between the two. "The Arrancar that Hitsugaya and Karin faced was no ordinary Arrancar. Of course you would have noticed yourself, Captain…?" Urahara said. _

_Toshiro nodded slowly, "Yes, this so called Arrancar, he had a reiatsu, but it wasn't just his…it was almost like his soul…was made up of the souls of others."_

_Orihime frowned, "Is that even possible?"_

"_The only possible way to take someone's soul is if they are already dead and are physically souls. When souls are devoured by something other than a being such as a Hollow, the two souls merge physically extending the devourers life and strength."_

_Everyone quieted as Urahara began explaining. Seeing that he had everyone's attention, his smirk faded as he continued,_

"_However, no ordinary human can do such a thing of course; this deed is a crime to nature, and an insult to both Heaven and Hell. The only creatures capable of committing such a crime are the lowest of the low; so dirty and sinful that even Hell's Gatekeeper's will not let them pass. These creatures include Hollow's,_Shinidamachu_, and possibly…."_

_He sat silently thinking._

"_And possibly…what?" Toshiro asked getting slightly anxious. _

"_It's iffy…but there is a chance…that Aizen could have created an _Arrancar_- or possibly an_ Espada_…using a _Shinidamachu_. He could have done it with more than one…" He murmured,_

"_But…_Shinidamachu_… their so rare!" Tessai exclaimed. "How is it possible for Aizen to get his hands on one?"_

"_I'll say it again: it's iffy; I'm not totally sure. But it is a possibility. And it is also possible for Aizen to have found one in Hueco Mundo. After all, it is where all of the Hollow's evolve; it's only natural for the_ Shinidamachu_ to be there."_

"_Um-excuse me, but what exactly are _Shinidamachu_?" Orihime asked even more confused now than before. _

_Urahara smiled and turned to her, "Well, that's a good question! _Shinidamachu_ or more specifically: 'Dead Soul Insects', are very old and very rare creatures; similar to a cross between an insect and a snake, that where most often seen back in Feudal Era Japan. They take the souls of others and feed off of them or bring them to demons. They are also known and 'Soul Stealers'."_

"_Is it possible for Yami to be one of these _Shinidamachu_?" Toshiro asked. _

_Urahara thought for a moment, "It is possible…But then again, all Hollows, Arrancar's, and Espada all take souls. But Yami does seem to be based mainly off of souls that he can easily devour. "_

The same as the Mock Arrancar…_Toshiro thought grimly._

"_But why would Aizen be interested in Karin?" Toshiro asked. _

"_That's what is bugging me; it can't be for any power she possesses-or any other reason for that matter…so why?" _

_Everyone was silent, why indeed…_

**To tell you the truth, I'm not all that surprised**_**…**__Hyourinmaru murmured._

What do you mean? _Toshiro frowned._

**Her spiritual pressure is surprisingly strong, but that doesn't surprise anyone; seeing her brother that is. But there is something else…something about it that seems, in a way, ancient…powerful, strong…but I sense purity at well. I have been able to sense this since the first time we came across her…but only when she was close enough. But it seems that neither you nor the others can sense this, am I correct, Master?**

_Toshiro's frown furrowed at this new found information, no, he in fact had not sensed this before. He would question others if they had told him this, but with Hyourinmaru…he didn't doubt him for a second. And if this was true…what would Karin be doing with this sort of…'purity'?_

Besides her name_…he mused._

But…why would Aizen, of all people, be interested as something such as this? It doesn't make any sense…

"_Well, we can worry about all of this another day!" Urahara smiled cheerfully. "For now we'll just worry about Miss Karin; who knows they may come back. I suggest that we keep a close eye on her for the time being…And Captain Hitsugaya? I think that it would be best to keep this a secret from Ichigo as well as the Soul Society; we will inform them when we fully understand the situation, yes?"_

_Toshiro nodded, "Yes, it seems the better way to go."_

"_Excellent! I'll contact the middle school she goes to…with Orihime's help of course…"_

_Orihime beamed and nodded, "Sure!"_

**(A/N: MUST READ! IMPROTANCE!)**

"_Wait, middle school?" Toshiro frowned._

_Orihime nodded again, "Yea! They skipped a grade in the middle of the year! Yuzu-chan was having a little trouble so I helped her! And then she helped Karin-chan and-yea…" She trailed off looking slightly embarrassed._

_Everyone was silent for a moment, Toshiro blinked, "From…you?"_

_Orihime blushed, "Well, yea! I'm not as dumb as I look you know!" She murmured looking away._

**(A/N: yea so, I hate it when people make Karin older…don't get me wrong I like some of them! But I just wanted to be clear that Karin isn't any older than she was in ep. 316 (looked like 12) got it?)**

_Toshiro just shook his head and stood walking out the door. "KEEP A CLOSE EYE ON HER FOR US HITSUGAYA-KUN!" Urahara shouted after him. The captain sighed; somehow he knew this wasn't going to end pleasantly._

* * *

><p>Karin blinked at the end of the story. She hated being babied and watched over, but as Toshiro pointed out earlier, there wasn't really much of a choice.<p>

"So…you'll be watched and guarded 24/7?" She asked with attetude she was known for.

"Yes, pretty much…" Toshiro replied tossing her shirt to her.

She shrugged off the jacket and pulled her T-shirt over her head and was silent for a moment more.

"So, you'll be like my guard dog." She smirked. It wasn't a question.

The captain scowled at her choice of words but went on ahead and answered anyway: "Yes, I'll be like your guard dog."

* * *

><p><strong>The end! Finally! Life and all of this is tiring! R&amp;R everyone! Luv you all! :) <strong>


	5. Chapter 5

**Well…I'm back again!** **I hope you enjoy this chapter! Sorry I've been so late in updating lately, I have a life too ya know! Plus it's SUMMER! finally… Happy reading! ;)**

**-The Bleached Inu**

* * *

><p>5: School's In<p>

* * *

><p>Karin sighed rubbing sleep from her eyes while beside her, Yuzu was skipping happily in her school uniform humming to herself. Today was Monday…the cursed day of all of the school days…Karin didn't really want any more bad luck. She didn't need it. Yuzu looked back at her older twin and pulled a face,<p>

"Why are you always so tired Karin-chan? It's been a week since you've been sick! You should be feeling better by now!"

Karin smirked, "I'm tired 'cause I had a butt load of homework for the week and a half that I've missed school! Besides that fever really weighed me down…"

Yuzu frowned in an understanding way and opened her mouth to say something but someone beat her to it. "Hey! Karin!"

The two girls stopped and turned around to see Raion jogging up behind them. Yuzu smiled knowingly at him and turned to her sister,

"I'll see you in class, Ka-"

"Yuzu-chan! Don't leave without me!"

Karin scowled, right on Raion's heals was her worst nightmare: Kirei Furūtsu. Kirei was the popular, cheerleader type of girl at her school. She was the perfect in seemingly every way! She was the perfect height, perfect long, curly, light brown hair (which was still slightly yellow), and her body, for most girls, was to die for! Despite her age (thirteen) she could easily be mistaken for a short sixteen-year-old. The only thing that Karin thought she needed to work on was her friggin attitude. The girl just pissed her off. Period.

Karin would gladly punch her lights our any day! The only problem was…Kirei was her sister best friend.

"Hi, Kirei!" Yuzu beamed. The two girls giggled and hugged. Then Kirei saw Karin;

"Oh…hey Kurosaki-san! Good to see you back! You're feeling better?"

Karin forced a smile, "Yup. Sure am!"

Kirei smiled sweetly, "That great; that fever sure did a number on your eyes though, you look so tired!"

Karin's eye twitched, her smile fading fast, "Well why don't you-"

"We were just leaving Kirei, don't wanna be late now do we sis?" Raion cut her off. Oh, and another thing…her name was Kirei _Kyōryoku, _Raion's step-sister.

Kirei frowned at her brother but nodded anyway, "Sure." With that she grabbed Yuzu's arm and sped away.

Karin watched her go; smoke blowing from her ears. Almost literally. Raion smirked and held up his hand.

"URGH!" the young Kurosaki punched her friends hand with all her might.

"SHE PISSES ME THE HELL OFF!" she punched it again.

Raion gave an airy chuckle. Karin looked up at him and smirked, "Gee, out of breath already? After _that run? _I thought I taught you better!"

Raion smirked, "You're the one to talk, I teach you!"

Karin rolled her eyes slinging her bag over her shoulder and the two walked to school chatting and occasionally hitting the other over the head.

"That reminds me!" Raion said after a while, "You still owe me a soccer match!"

Karin tensed, it has been a week since the little incident and she was warned about Raion's memory loss. She could not speak a word of it while she was around him or any others that are not involved. She knew that of course, but that didn't stop Urahara from explaining it to her.

"_Now you can't tell a soul of this, understand? Or else…or else…well just let your imagination wonder!"_

Karin shivered, Urahara never failed to creep her out. She put a hand on her chest, she still had a slight scar there but it would fade soon…but it reminded her that had had to keep her guard up.

She smiled up at him, "Yea, I do don't I?"

* * *

><p>Karin rolled her pencil around on her desk as their teacher took roll. Raion smirked amusingly at her over his shoulder from his seat in front of her. There was an advantage of sitting in the back of the room: you could talk freely to the people in front of you without the teacher being able to hear you, you can (at times) cheat, pass notes, etc. But the (usually) only disadvantage is that the teacher calls on you a lot if you are in the back, and that really doesn't help your case when you're not listening.<p>

"_You should pay more attention, Kurosaki! I don't even know why they even let you get away with this kind of behavior in elementary!"_

She had heard this many times over from her teachers as well as their judgment of how she wears her school attire. It gets tiring after a while…

"Kyōryoku, Raion?"

"Here!"

"Kurosaki, Karin?"

"Here..." She mumbled, her pencil rolled off the desk. That finished the roll call.

"Now class, we have a new student joining us today," Her sensei started as Karin bent down under her desk to get her pencil.

"You can come on in now."

Karin heard the door slide open and the girls in her room gasp; _great…_she thought, _either he's as ugly has hell, or we just earned ourselves another quarter back. _She smirked grabbed her pencil.

"I'm Toshiro Hitsugaya-"

_BANG!_

"Oww…" Karin moaned as her head hit the desk, she sat up her hand still clutching her head as well as the pencil her eyes wide, her fears confirmed. Right there, standing in front of the room facing her and her class, wearing her school's uniform, was none other than the ice cold Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya.

"-It's a pleasure meet you all." Toshiro finished giving a slight bow to everyone.

The girls sighed, the boys scowled, the Karin blurted: "Toshiro?"

**(A/N: yes, '****the**** Karin' was on purpose)**

…

"EEEEEHHHHHH!"

Karin flushed a pinkish hue under everyone's gaze. Toshiro's eyes flickered over to her and gave an ever so small smile,

"Hello Karin, are you feeling better?"

…

"EEEEEHHHHHH!"

Raion raised an eyebrow and looked back and forth between the two. They knew each other? Kirei, who sat in front of the classroom, gaped eyes wide and mouth hanging open. Karin had to admit it was quite the picture.

"Oh! You two know each other? Good! Then Miss Kurosaki can show you around then!" The Sensei smiled. _Why? _Karin asked Kami.

"Actually, if it's all the same to you Sensei, I could take the seat right next to her if you don't mind.'

This was the first time during her half the school year in 7th grade that she hated sitting in the back…with an empty desk to her right side.

"But of course! Have a seat."

Toshiro said a quick "thanks" and plopped down in his desk next to Karin; all eyes in the room following.

"What are you doing here?" Karin hissed scowling her hardest at the white haired Shinigami.

"What? I can't come to school like everyone else?" He asked. Karin, still scowling, turned back to everyone else in the room, "What are you all looking at?" everyone quickly turned around. A mad Kurosaki was a _bad _Kurosaki.

* * *

><p><em>BRIIIIIING!<em>

The bell rang for lunch and students from all classes burst from their classrooms and raced outside. No matter what grade you where in, lunch was always one of the students favorite subjects. But today, Karin Kurosaki was not at all in the mood to eat; even the delicious food her sister had made herself. She was too busy glaring at the boy in front of her. Well…the Shinigami thing…

"…What are you glaring at me for?" Toshiro asked without looking mouth full of some kind of sandwich. Karin's eye twitched,

"You still didn't answer me _Hitsugaya…_Why. Are. You._ Here_?

Toshiro took a sip of water…still not looking at her,

"I told you, I can go to school if I want. Its enforced isn't it?"

Karin jumped off the ground and onto her feet almost hitting her head on a low hanging branch on the tree shading them.

"ARE YOU _FRIGGIN_ KIDDING ME!" she shrieked drawing some eyes. Lowering her voice she said, "We both know you didn't join MY school 'cause you CAN! Mr. 'I don't go to any school'!"

"…I did say that didn't I?" Toshiro finally granted her with his attention and looked up at her from the corner of his eyes, "Do you really want to know? It might get you mad."

Karin, showing she wasn't going anywhere, crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. Toshiro sighed.

"I joined your school because it's not safe for you."

"Not safe for me? Waddya mean?"

Toshiro turned and fully faced her, "An Arrancar won't attack a human period. He would have had to have some sort of reason. Naturally, I had to report this to Captain Yamamoto, he's like the Shinigami's leader in a way. My mission now is to watch over you until we find out what's going on."

Karin listened and scowled, "I don't need any protection! I'm just fine on my own!"

"I knew you were going to say that…" Toshiro retorted, "And from what I remember, you almost died a week ago and nearly hurt your friend in the process."

Karin's ego faltered, it was true…and she hated it.

"There's one more thing you should know, do you know what _reiatsu_ is?" Karin nodded, "Well…you don't have one anymore…you see, at sometime during the Arrancar incident, Nusumu took your soul. Therefore you have no reiatsu to spare."

Karin blinked her hands falling to her sides, "But if he took my soul, wouldn't I be dead?"

"You would, which is why we're stumped. It is almost as if you have a spare soul which is not able to be detected which is obviously impossible. We may believe that it may relate to some sort of reincarnation of sorts, but we are not sure."

Karin nodded slowly taking it in and sat back down, "But if I don't have any reiatsu, then how can the enemy find me? Won't I be safe then?"

The young captain nodded at her observation, "Yes and no. Even without any sense of reiatsu, Arrancar's have different ways to track you down; which is why we want to take precautions and keep an eye on you for now."

Karin nodded again and sighed, "Does Ichi-ni know about this?" she asked. Toshiro shook his head in a 'no'. "Good" she said, "He would flip out."

"Which is why you must keep this to yourself! The only ones that know are the other captains, Urahara, you and I. this must not reach anyone else's ears or it will cause problems, understand?"

Karin smirked, "Urahara told me…in his special way."

Toshiro knew exactly what she meant.

"Besides," Toshiro said, "I promised your brother."

"What?" Karin frowned,

"Nothing..."

* * *

><p>Raion watched the two from his spot on a bench a little ways away wondering what they could be talking about. Karin had told him that she couldn't sit with him today, she had to "greet" Hitsugaya properly. Of course he had agreed but he didn't like it. There was something off about this guy…no matter how many girls he heard sighing over him or scowling at the sight of him with the "He-She". It was hard to explain but he had a really strong aura about him. He's been able to sense things like this about people. He found it kinda cool in a sixth sense sort of way.<p>

But wondering what they were talking about was pointless. First Karin jumps up yelling at the guy, and then is calmly talking back and forth with him in a serious and slightly confusing manner. Whatever this guys deal was…he better not interfere with him and his friend.

* * *

><p><em>Tap-Tap-Tap-Tap<em>

The sound of footsteps in the large empty room echoed and bounced from wall to wall.

_Tap-Tap-Tap-Tap-_

The footsteps stopped.

…

"Did you bring what I asked?" a deep voice boomed after a short silence.

"Of course, My Lord." The young Arrancar drew his sword, whispered a few words, allowing it to glow with light.

"Ah!" Nusumu dropped his weapon in shock and pain, it had _burned_ him!

"Do not fear, I expected this to happen…" Aizen smirked from his throne down at his servant. "Such pure ad bright power is very painful to us low and dark creatures."

Aizen's smirk turned into a small smile, "You work will be rewarded…we will all have ours soon enough."

* * *

><p><strong>Dun-Dun-<strong>_**DUN! **_**Hahaha! Hope you enjoyed this chapter of 'The Promise'! And remember R&R! Happy Summer Everyone! 3**

**-The Bleached inu**


	6. Chapter 6

**And we're back! Hey everyone! Thanks for leaving all of your funny and inspiring comments, I really appreciate them. Sorry that the chapters for this story have been too much of the same lately, but this one I hope strays from all of the some-what seriousness 'kay? AND I'M FINALLY TRAINING FOR MY BLACK BELT! It's harder but I will try to balance everything out including my updates got it!? Enjoy!**

**-The Bleached Inu**

* * *

><p>Chapter 6<p>

* * *

><p><em>The forest was lush and green, small dew drops hung from the long blades of grass and the slightly yellowing leaves on the trees from the morning fog. The air was humid and moist, and not a demon in sight. Well, besides the one.<em>

_The young woman smiled at the calm serenity of the moment, kneeling down and flicking dew drops off of the small white flower she was gazing at. With the weight gone, the flower sprung back upright._

"_I don't understand you humans' sometimes." the demons voice said behind her, "You appreciate such small things."_

_The woman scowled at his cold words, "We _humans, _appreciate 'such small things' because it is the Earth that gives us what we need and we are thankful." She said flatly._

_The demon was silent, "You are the only human that would ever say such a thing, young Miko."_

_The young woman reached for an arrow, "I _will_ shoot you."_

_The demon 'hmphed' "I'm sure you will…" even though she couldn't see his face, he was smirking._

* * *

><p>Karin's eyes blinked open. She sat up a little on her bed glancing at the clock; her alarm would go off in 10 minutes. She quickly reached for it and shut off the alarm, maybe she could sleep a little longer and tell her sister that her alarm never woke her up or even went off; she wouldn't be lying.<p>

But she found herself unable to sleep, that dream…those dreams…what were they? Almost every other night now Karin has been having odd dreams such as this, and they were starting to get annoying. But the thing was, the young woman, in every dream Karin was in her shoes, seeing what she saw. But never that so called "demons" face. Almost like memories.

Karin swung her legs over the side of her bed sighing.

_THUD_

She blinked again, looking down at her feet, she saw a really, _really_, annoyed aquamarine eye staring back up at her,

"Get. _Off_!"

It was Toshiro. Toshiro? Oh. Yeah. Crap.

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Day Before…<strong>_

"So that why I wanted to ask you guys if he could stay here for a while? At least until his aunt can bring him back to America with her."

Yuzu's bottom lip trembled and her wide brown eyes sparkled with tears and what looked like stars? It was kind of cute…he father on the other hand hade the exact same expression; far from cute that one.

"Oh Daddy, he can stay can't he? Say he can!"

"Oh my little Yuzu-chan, of course he can stay! Oh you poor boy!"

Karin watched in somewhat of an agony as her "father" and sister cried loudly and hugged each other tightly. Grimacing, she turned to the white haired boy beside her looking just as pain watching them as she was.

"Well, looks like you can stay! Hehehe-"

Toshiro stared blankly in a short horror like state as she laughed nervously, "You can stay in Ichi-nii's room for the time being…but Yuzu will insist on cleaning it up first. So I guess you'll just have to stay in my room."

* * *

><p>And there they were. Glaring at each other.<p>

"Who told you to sleep so close to the bed!?" Karin argued her foot still on his face,

"Who told you that I couldn't sleep in a messy room- mph!?" Toshiro was cut off by Karin's foot pressing harder on his face and into the floor.

"Oh just shut up!"

"Karin-chan, Hitsugaya-kun! Hurry up or we'll all be late!"

The two of them looked at the slightly opened door, then back at each other, then at the clock…and back at each other. Karin lifted her foot off of the poor Captains face and literally threw him out the door.

"HEY!" Toshiro barked. Karin took hold of the door handle still glaring at him, "I have to get changed, knowing Yuzu she probably has something in Ichi-nii's room for you; use them."

She slammed the door shut.

_Damn her, she won't make this easy…_

_**Just be happy she isn't the frilly girly type! She can handle herself (unlike some people I know…)**_

_Shut up, Hyourinmaru! _

Sighing to himself and at his Zanpakuto, he trudged lazily over to Ichigo's room. Attempted to that is; the first time he got the bathroom, he second time he got it right. He did usually get to Ichigo's room through the window after all. The room was cleaned up by Kurosaki's sister, Yuzu if he remembered correctly; it was a big enough space, and it was right next to Karin's room, perfect for keeping an eye on her.

_**Stalker…**_

_I'm not stalking her! It's my job to keep her safe! It's just I was the only one assigned to because I actually know her; even if it was just for a while._

_**Well, you two do seem like good friends you know, Master? **_

Toshiro just sighed and didn't say another word to his Zanpakuto. He needed to get changed; he did have school after all.

* * *

><p>Breakfast alone was hard to deal with; even Yuzu felt the change in weather between the two. Did they get into a fight? Maybe having them share a room was a bad idea. She looked back and forth between the boy and girl standing on wither sides of her deliberately looking away from each other. Yuzu had tried several times now to start a conversation to ease the tense air, but both of them just gave a small "humph" and continue to be agitated. Finally, only 2 minutes from the school, Yuzu couldn't take it anymore; she snatched both her siblings and her "friends" ears and gave a rough tug pulling them as close as possible to her face without hurting herself. With loud yelps, they looked at the blurred image of Yuzu.<p>

"OW!"

"What the hell Yuzu?!" Karin shouted dropping her soccer ball.

"I have had it! You two need to start talking or I'm going to lose it! I don't know what happened last night but you two need to get over it!"

Toshiro and Karin where speechless; Karin rarely saw this side of Yuzu and it usually took a lot to get her to show it. She must be PMS'ing or something…But she had to admit, the look on Toshiro's face was priceless! He probably had the same idea about her sister as everyone else does. Well their wrong (sometimes).

Yuzu's face softened a bit, but she kept a firm grip on their ears, "Aren't you two supposed to be friends?"

Toshiro and Karin didn't say anything at first, sure they thought of each other as friends (even though they won't admit to it) so naturally they didn't respond. Yuzu released their now red ears in a sort of satisfaction and skipped ahead of them without saying another word back to her happy self. Toshiro and Karin stared wide eyed at her retreating back holding their ears;

"Is she always that bipolar?" Toshiro asked,

"No," Karin answered, "And thank Kami for that."

"Good, I don't want to live with that for the next how knows how long."

Karin let out a small laugh, "You feel my pain then?"

Toshiro 'humphed' and walked on ahead his hands in his pockets. "Would it kill you to wear a skirt to school?"

Karin's face reddened, "THEY'RE UNCOMFORTABLE AND REVLIELING SO EXCUSE ME FO-"

"Hey, Karin!"

Karin stopped midsentence and turned around, "Raion!" she smiled.

Toshiro stopped in his tracks and turned as well. It was the boy from a few weeks ago…

Raion smiled down at Karin, "Why didn't you wait for m-"That's when he noticed the white haired boy standing behind her, the one that transferred, that apparently knew his best friend. "Oh, hey again." He said politely, "The new transfer right?"

Toshiro stared blankly at him, "Yeah. I'm guessing your Raion."

"Yeah, how'd you know?"

He was next to Karin now, "she just said it."

"Oh…right…" Raion said a bit awkwardly noticing how close the two in front of him where.

"So…you skipped a grade too huh?"

Karin snorted in an attempt to silence her laugh but failed miserably. She remembered the last time she had questioned him on that. Toshiro's eye twitched a little, "Yeah…I am." He forced out.

Karin snorted again her hand now over her mouth. A now confused Raion blinked, inside joke maybe? That thought upset him a bit for a reason he did not know why. Finally calm, Karin looked up at her friend, "He's a friend from out of town, he's staying with me while he's here."

Raion looked surprised, "Like, are your _house?_"

She nodded, "only for a bit though. Okay guys we've wasted enough time, we're gonna be late for school!"

She snatched both of the boys' wrists, Toshiro in her right Raion in her left,

"Hurry, before Yuzu beats us there!"

She took off in a sprint dragging the two boys behind her. At times like this Raion would usually smile, but today his gaze was on the white haired boy beside him no smile in sight. The transfer student looked a bit pissed and glared at Karin's back but did not protest.

_What was their deal?_

* * *

><p>Remember when Karin had thought that sitting in the back had its advantages? Well, she took that back. Now that "Mr. Grumpy-Face-Taicho" was sitting right next to her, class was pretty much unbearable. She couldn't stop herself from sneaking a glance at him every few minutes or so; she didn't know why, but the fact of having him here was disturbing to her in an awkward sort of way. Normally when a new student came into the classroom she would ignore them completely; but knowing Toshiro and the reason why he was here was unnerving. She used to like sitting in the back so she can whisper to Raion almost all the time without being noticed. But now she was afraid too. Toshiro would probably tattle-tale. Suddenly, she saw a frown on his face. He always had a slight scowl but this one had a meaning, she couldn't help but wonder what it was.<p>

Toshiro looked at Karin; and seeing her already looking, gave a mocking smirk. Scowling, cheeks pink, she turned her attention back to the front. She hadn't realized she was staring… _stupid._

* * *

><p>Toshiro sat in the class room listening to the teacher drawl on. He really didn't need to listen; he knew most of this stuff anyway. And if the rare occasion that there was something that he <em>didn't<em> know, he wouldn't need the information. Instead, he thought of Momo, his sister. She was awake now, but still in the delusion that Aizen was doing something to help them! Even after… _Aizen. _

Toshiro scowled in hatred. What was he up to know? He snuck a glance towards Karin almost afraid she was gone. She was already looking at him; to amuse himself, he sent a smirk her way. She flushed a little noticing her staring and stubbornly looked back at the board in the front of the room.

She was so young, Toshiro thought, he felt kind of sorry for her to deal with this all in such a way. He also respected her for handling it with the little maturity she had. Kind of reminded hinm of himself when he was younger…

* * *

><p>Raion couldn't focus on the lesson. The total time he spent looking at the board their Sensei was writing on was at least ten seconds; the rest of the time he watched Karin and the new student in the two seats in front of him. Karin had not spoken to him nor has she passed a note yet and did not doubt that she wouldn't later on. Her head turned slightly every once and a while towards Toshiro. After a few minutes of this, she looked again but this time her eyes lingered. This made Raion a bit uncomfortable. Toshiro looked at her and cast her a smirk. He saw her blush even from where he was sitting and found himself scowling.<p>

Could he have been reading this wrong? Wait, was reading? Karin was his friend! She could do anything she wanted to! Even if that meant liking a boy- No matter how much he tried those words did not seem to fit together in once sentence, to him anyways. Did he- he couldn't, no way! How would that eve-

The bell rang and everyone got up to leave.

* * *

><p>Light footsteps echoed through the large empty hallway. Well, almost empty.<p>

"Ulquiorra! Hey, Ulquiorra!" Tamashī hollered.

"Really, there is no need to yell." Ulquiorra stepped out from the shadows his hands in his pockets.

Tamashī snorted, he despised this guy…

"You really shouldn't speak to me in such a way; you know fully well what I am and what I'm capable of, so don't push it you bastard!"

Ulquiorra blinked, "Yes, I do what you are and what you can do; but that also goes the same for you to me. You know perfectly well what I myself am capable of. You are the one who should be worried. Besides, haven't you heard? I don't have a soul for you to steal; no one here does."

Tamashī growled his hands clenched into fists. But it was true, no form of ignorance could prove otherwise, if he had ever gotten into a fight with this guy he'd be dead within the first five minutes.

The fourth Arrancar turned his back on Tamashī; "If that is all then I suggest you leave before you do something you'll regret."

"WAIT!"

Ulquiorra stopped mid-step, "When will I get my sword back?"

Fourth looked over his shoulder, "That is not for me to say. Lord Aizen will return it to you when he is finished with his work." With that he left, leaving a fuming Tamashī Nusumu behind him.

* * *

><p><em>The grown demon sat on the grass, back up straight and legs crossed properly looking over the sun set over the small village. Was she going to come tonight? Like he should care…since when has he ever cared for anything? <em>

"…_!"_

_The demons pointed ears twitched at the sound of his name being called. _

"…_!"_

_She did come…why does she keep coming?_

"…_!"_

"…_ro!"_

"…_shiro!"_

"Toshiro?"

* * *

><p>Toshiro's light eyes snapped open to meet the dark ones. Karin smirked, "Jeez Toshiro, did your first day of school knock you out that much?" She laughed. Toshiro just scowled and sat up; his previous dream will haunt him for the rest of the week.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>OMG guys, that took FOREVER! I'm sorry for the long wait, I hope you enjoyed this chapter just as much as I loved writing it! 3<strong>

**-The Bleached Inu**


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